Suan Sin (Jolin) Foo Laboratory

Research

Overview

Dr. Foo’s research focuses on viral infection during pregnancy, specifically viral pathogenesis and maternal-fetal immunology. The primary research in the Foo lab focuses on elucidating the long-term immune repercussion in mother and child during prenatal infection by emerging pathogens including Zika virus and high-risk pathogen SARS-CoV-2. To address this, Dr. Foo’s lab will employ a “bench-bedside-bench” strategy, which includes a blend of molecular and immunological approaches using: (1) in vitro models – reverse genetic and whole blood infection system, (2) pre-clinical models – prenatal infections in immunocompetent mouse models, and (3) clinical models – using patients’ specimens from retrospective and prospective mother-infant dyads cohorts in collaborative efforts with an international team of infectious diseases clinician-researchers from Cleveland Clinic and other international institutions.

Selected Publications

1. Foo SS, Cambou MC, Mok T, Fajardo VM, Jung KL, Fuller T, Chen W, Kerin T, Mei J, Bhattacharya D, Choi Y, Wu X, Xia T, Shin WJ, Cranston J, Aldrovandi G, Tobin N, Contreras D, Ibarrondo FJ, Yang O, Yang S, Garner O, Cortado R, Bryson Y, Janzen C, Ghosh S, Devaskar S, Asilnejad B, Moreira ME, Vasconcelos Z, Soni PR, Gibson LC, Brasil P, Comhair SAA, Arumugaswami V, Erzurum SC, Rao R, Jung JU, Nielsen-Saines K. The systemic inflammatory landscape of COVID-19 in pregnancy: Extensive serum proteomic profiling of mother-infant dyads with in utero SARS-CoV-2. Cell Report Medicine. 2021 Nov 16;2(11):100453.
   
   
2. Chen W, Foo SS, Hong E, Wu C, Lee WS, Lee SA, Evseenko D, Moreira MEL, García-Sastre A, Cheng G, Nielsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Avvad-Portari E, Jung JU. Zika virus NS3 protease induces bone morphogenetic protein-dependent brain calcification in human fetuses. Nature Microbiology. 2021;6(4):455-466.
   
   
3. Foo SS, Chen W, Chan Y, Lee WS, Lee SA, Cheng G, Nielsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Jung JU. Biomarkers and immunoprofiles associated with fetal abnormalities of ZIKV-positive pregnancies. JCI Insight. 2018 Nov;3(21).
   
   
4. Foo SS, Chen W, Chan Y, Bowman JW, Chang LC, Choi Y, Yoo JS, Ge J, Cheng G, Bonnin A, Nielsen-Saines K, Brasil P, Jung JU. Asian Zika virus strains target CD14+ blood monocytes and induce M2-skewed immunosuppression during pregnancy. Nature Microbiology. 2017;2(11):1558-1570.
   
   
5. Chen W*, Foo SS*, Zaid A, Teng TS, Herrero LJ, Wolf S, Tharmarajah K, Vu LD, van Vreden C, Taylor A, Freitas JR, Li RW, Woodruff TM, Gordon R, Ojcius DM, Nakaya HI, Kanneganti TD, O'Neill LAJ, Robertson AAB, King NJ, Suhrbier A, Cooper MA, Ng LFP, Mahalingam S. Specific inhibition of NLRP3 in chikungunya disease reveals a role for inflammasomes in alphavirus-induced inflammation. Nature Microbiology. 2017;2(10):1435-1445. (*Equal 1st authorship)
   
   
6. Liang Q, Luo Z, Zeng J, Chen W, Foo SS, Lee SA, Ge J, Wang S, Goldman SA, Zlokovic BV, Zhao Z, Jung JU. Zika Virus NS4A and NS4B Proteins Deregulate Akt-mTOR Signaling in Human Fetal Neural Stem Cells to Inhibit Neurogenesis and Induce Autophagy. Cell Stem Cell. 2016;19(5):663-671.
   
   
7. Taylor A*, Foo SS*, Bruzzone R, Dinh LV, King NJ, Mahalingam S. Fc receptors in antibody-dependent enhancement of viral infections. Immunological Review. 2015, 268(1): 340-64. (*Equal 1st authorship)
   
   
8. Foo SS, Reading PC, Jaillon S, Mantovani A, Mahalingam S. Pentraxins and collectins: friend or foe during pathogen invasion? Trends in Microbiology. 2015, 23(12): 799-811
   
   
9. Rolph MS*, Foo SS*, Mahalingam S. Emergent chikungunya virus and arthritis in the Americas. Lancet Infectious Disease. 2015, 15(9): 1007-1008. (*Equal 1st authorship)
   
   
10. Foo SS, Chen W, Taylor A, Sheng KC, Yu X, Teng TS, Reading PC, Blanchard H, Garlanda C, Mantovani A, Ng LF, Herrero LJ, Mahalingam S. Role of pentraxin 3 in shaping arthritogenic alphaviral disease: from enhanced viral replication to immunomodulation. PLoS Pathogens. 2015;11(2):e1004649.
    
    
11. Chen W*, Foo SS*, Sims NA, Herrero LJ, Walsh NC, Mahalingam S. Arthritogenic alphaviruses: new insights into arthritis and bone pathology. Trends in Microbiology. 2015;23(1):35-43. (*Equal 1st authorship)
    
    
12. Chen W, Foo SS*, Taylor A, Lulla A, Merits A, Hueston L, Forwood MR, Walsh NC, Sims NA, Herrero LJ, Mahalingam S. Bindarit, an inhibitor of monocyte chemotactic protein synthesis, protects against bone loss induced by chikungunya virus infection. Journal of Virology. 2015;89(1):581-93. (*Equal 1st authorship)
    
    
13. Teng TS* and Foo SS*, Simamarta D, Lum FM, Teo TH, Lulla A, Yeo NK, Koh EG, Chow A, Leo YS, Merits A, Chin KC, Ng LF. Viperin restricts chikungunya virus replication and pathology. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 2012, 122(12): 4447-60. (*Equal 1st authorship)
    
    
14. Chen W, Foo SS, Rulli NE, Taylor A, Sheng KC, Herrero LJ, Herring BL, Lidbury BA, Li RW, Walsh NC, Sims NA, Smith PN, Mahalingam S. Arthritogenic alphaviral infection perturbs osteoblast function and triggers pathologic bone loss. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2014;111(16):6040-5.
    
    
15. Foo SS, Chen W, Herrero L, Bettadapura J, Narayan J, Dar L, Broor S, Mahalingam S. The genetics of alphaviruses. Future Virology. 2011;6(12):1407-1422.